Quinn Hughes and Michael McCarron scored in the first 5:27 for Minnesota, and the Wild held on for a 5-1 road win over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
Justin Sourdif scored the only goal for Washington in the dying seconds of the second period, but the Capitals’ three-game winning streak came to an end during the visit by the Central Division-leading Wild.
Maxim Shabanov’s power-play goal with 2:23 left in the third restored a two-goal margin, and Kirill Kaprizov added an empty-netter for his 500th career point and league-leading 15th goal of the season.
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With 24.9 seconds left and the goalie back in, Danila Yurov scored one more for Minnesota.
Washington had scored at least four goals in five of its previous six games, but the Capitals ran into a stingy Minnesota team and goalie Jesper Wallstedt. The Wild permitted two goals or fewer for the fifth time in six games.
Minnesota has points in eight of its last nine.
Hughes opened the scoring after only 3:42 with his fifth goal of the season. McCarron’s shot from the slot made it 2-0.
Sourdif deflected the puck past Wallstedt to cut the lead in half.
Alex Ovechkin has just one goal in his first 13 games in what he’s said will be his final NHL season. Cole Hutson found him on the doorstep with a pass early in the third period, but with the net open, the puck bounced off Ovechkin’s skate and he wasn’t able to control it.
Ovechkin later had a shot from the slot denied by Wallstedt. Alex Tuch stole the puck near the Minnesota net but was stopped by Wallstedt as well.
Jordan Kyrou had a six-game point streak snapped for Washington.
Capitals add goalie: The Capitals added goaltender Remi Poirier through a trade with the New Jersey Devils on Sunday, the team announced. Washington sent a seventh-round pick in next year’s draft to New Jersey in the exchange.
Poirier provides additional depth at goaltender behind Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren.
Last season, the third goalie spot was filled by Mitch Gibson and Clay Stevenson. But Washington returned Gibson to the AHL’s Hershey Bears last week and the Winnipeg Jets claimed Stevenson off waivers in September.
Poirier, 25, has appeared in 137 career AHL games, though he’s yet to make his NHL debut. The Quebec native has totaled a 70-51-14 record in the AHL, allowing an average of 2.76 goals against with a .908 save percentage.
Up next: Wild play at Philadelphia on Tuesday night.
The Capitals host Dallas on Tuesday night.
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